Five ten used to be better known for producing awesome climbing shoes with some of the best rubber for sticking to rocks. With this in mind it's not hard to imagine how they have manged to produce some of the best mountain bike shoes for flat pedals, if they can get shoes to stick to overhanging rock then they can get them to stick on pedals. That said five ten did not depend on current knowledge for this, they fully researched the requirements of mountain bikers and developed world cup winning shoes.